Emily was rather verbal when watching TV shows on a normal day, and today was not a normal day.

Jeff always made fun of her for the hoops and hollers she made when they watched together. Seeing her husband fight a flipping monster only made it worse. There might have been a few screams and 'get it Jeff!'s.

Needless to say, she had attracted a lot of attention from those around her. When she explained she was Jeff's wife she was quickly escorted to the front and given a 'place of honor' to sit. Now everyone was watching her and it didn't help with the whirlwind of emotions within her at the moment. She tried to just focus on what the Spore was saying.

Jeff was questioning Kazi about the character sheet or identification screen they saw pop up on the pillar. Based on Jeff's reactions, they saw each of the screens when he did. Emily pulled out her phone and started taking notes.

Based on what Kazi was saying the Stats section seemed to be split between 3 sub-sections; Body, Mind and Spirit. Within each of those categories there were three stats Jeff could improve.

The body section had Strength, Dexterity and Vitality. Those made sense to her. Strength meant power, Dexterity meant speed, and Vitality helped with the functionality of the body. Strength helped how hard you can hit, how high you can jump and how much you can lift. Dexterity helped the body be more agile and spry. And vitality improved the health of his body.

The mind section had Cognition, Processing and Imagination. These fit in a pattern with the body section. Power, speed, and then functionality. Cognition was linked to his brains overall power. It would help his overall focus and recall. Processing was linked to speed. And Imagination was linked to the ability to create. Apparently a strong imagination was also a sign of a healthy mind.

Then there was Spirit. It only kinda fit the same pattern of power, speed, and functionality. Might was like power and affected how strong his abilities were. Sense would affect the non-physical senses like improving your sixth sense. Kazi just said it was something Jeff would have to experience to understand.

Depth fit with functionality, but it was still a weird one. First off, Jeff couldn't put points into Depth. It could only grow through strengthening his connection with the Myst. It would increase the number of connections and abilities he could have with the Myst.

"There's more to it," she heard Kazi say, "but let's discuss that after were back inside the System Pillar. First go and grab that claw and feed it to the Pillar."

Watching Jeff argue with Kazi about having to do 'all the heavy' lifting made Emily laugh. Then she saw him hobbling on his hurt leg and couldn't help her worrying for him.

The crowd around her took the change of pace as an intermission. The pastor of the church they were all nearby got some volunteers together and they pulled out a bunch of metal chairs for people to sit in.

One woman mentioned wanting to see if her friends were at the pillar near the high school. When she left a group of others decided to follow her. Phone numbers were exchanged and promises made to keep everyone in touch with what was going on at the other pillars.

Jeff was still struggling to carry the claw over the uneven surface. The claw was about the same size he was. He kept putting too much weight on his left foot and falling due to the pain.

Kazi convinced Jeff to put 3 points into Vitality, 2 into Strength, and 1 into Dexterity. Emily made note of the changes on the blue screen.

Body: Tier 1

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 2

Vitality: 4

Available Points: 0

Emily was amazed how much those few points helped Jeff's progress. His steps were more confident. He could lift the claw off the ground now, rather than just drag it, and his ankle was visibly better by the time he neared the Pillar.

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Two more news vans had pulled up now. The camera crews set up and she saw a confident woman step in front of one of them. She tossed her hair back, lifted the mic and started her speil.

"Hello, I am Jessica Gardner, and we are here in the White Mountains of Arizona watching Jeff, who was the first man to walk on another planet. And just moments ago he was the first one to kill a monster using magic. That's right folks, you heard it here first, magic and monsters are real and we are bringing you 24/7 coverage of the man who saw it first."

The woman held a finger to her ear while a person behind the camera pointed over at Emily.

Emily froze. Uh oh, this can’t be good.

The woman continued. "I just received word that Jeff's wife is in the audience here today." The camera panned over to her sitting in her lawnchair. She didn't know what to do with her hands. After a moment she decided on a little wave. The camera panned quickly back to the reporter. "We look forward to hearing from her about her brave husband and why she believes he was chosen by the Boschyan Army. Oh, it looks like something is happening, let's listen in."

Emily's face was flushed as she turned her attention back to the cylindrical screen in front of them. Jeff had just touched the tip of the claw up to the Pillar. The golden substance started sucking the claw in and with Jeff's help the claw disappeared in seconds. A screen popped up for them all to view.

Level 4 Myst infused organism accepted.

12 Merit points awarded.

Total merit points: 312

"You get 3 merit points for every level of the monster part you offer. At higher levels the monsters drop more body parts." Kazi said while Jeff caught his breath.

"Let's get us some food. Remember you are eating for two now." The Spore chuckled, obviously proud of the joke. Jeff just rolled his eyes. "Please, walk inside so I can discuss something I should have mentioned at the very beginning."

Jeff, looking too exhausted to argue, walked toward the System Pillar on Tutorial Island. The pillar Emily was watching turned golden again for the moments Jeff was inside the Pillar walls.

Emily saw movement in the crowd. She noticed a graying man stand up and start walking toward the Pillar. He ducked under the tape and rushed to the golden tower.

"As much as I like watching this fool, I'd rather do this myself." The man announced in a gruff voice to the camera then he placed his hand against the Pillar. The golden substance started pulling him in and soon the man disappeared. A murmur went through the crowd and a few others stood up.

Just then the graying man walked back out from the same spot and started at the crowd looking confused. He turned around and walked back into the Pillar. This time the substance did not suck him in. It turned completely solid and words appeared on the Pillar.

A volunteer has been Chosen. Watch and learn about the events to come.

The man stumbled back looking defeated.

"The same thing happened after we saw the Chosen go through," a voice said behind Emily. She turned and found a grandmotherly woman behind her. The woman reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Addressing her directly the woman continued, "We saw Jeff as he ran right into the System Pillar. He didn't even hesitate. He looked determined to find his kids. Your kids."

Emily teared up at her last words. "Th-thank you," she choked out and squeezed the hand on her shoulder.

Kazi started speaking again and Emily brought her attention back to her husband.

Jeff had two hands shoved into the golden wall and pulled them back. In his hands was a very elaborate metal lunch tray. It had cordoned off portions of unfamiliar, but delicious looking food.

He turned around and sat at the table and chair that had formed in the middle of the room.

Kazi's notes screen grew to a prominent position in Emily's view. A bunch of changes had been made so far. It was almost like Kazi had gained a portion of Jeff’s ADHD, but the notes actually helped her to see how much they had already learned from the Spore. It made her feel a little less frustrated with how this day had gone so far. She wasn't sure she'd believe all she was seeing if it wasn't happening to someone she knew so intimately.

The list suddenly made several more changes. Surprisingly 'Say Hello' got uncrossed and a winky face was added next to it. What did the cheaky Spore have up it’s sleeves now… wait… Jeff’s sleeves now?

Notes for System Orientation

1. Say hello ;)

2. Fight monster to the death

3. How we are saving humans

* a. Myst

* b. Kids are safe, you are not

* c. Wild Spores

* d. Where are your kids?

* e. Why pick a chosen volunteer?

4. Eat food

5. Spore Suits

* a. Stats and Leveling

* b. Connections and abilities

6. What is the Boschyan System?

7. Tutorial basics